The Shepherd's Dog
by remthedogsitter
Summary: AU. Kakashi's journey begins as he searches for Iruka who's been missing for 5 years and leads him deep into iron country where he is later rescued by a shepherd and his seven dogs. will Kakashi save Iruka in time?  Of Dogs and Men SEQUEL
1. Prologue: The Village

**The Shepherd's Dog **

**Author**: remthedogsitter

**Rating**: M

**Summary:** It's been five years since Iruka left the village on an important mission and Kakashi has been searching for him ever since. Kakashi's journey leads him deep into iron country where he is later rescued by a shepherd and his eight dogs. Will Kakashi manage to solve the mystery and save Iruka in time?

**Disclaimer**: I don't own Naruto or their characters in any shape or for

**Prologue: The Village**

The man gripped his staff in his hand, the old wood felt warm to touch after spending its evening a few feet away from the fire. He could hear his dog's claws click against the floor. They were ready to work and sheep were waiting to be led to pasture. He tied his loose locks securely behind his head before pulling up the fur lined hood of his coat, the winter was rough this year and from beneath the floor boards he heard his flock bleat.

He opened the door to the view of a world of white as he eagerly went down the wooden steps to the gate down below. The dogs barked and the sheep immediately were being herded, there were a few goats as well as they made their way down a worn path. The blizzard the night before had left a few feet of snow and the man's legs sunk down to his knees. They were going to market today trading sheep wool and preserved meat for oil, matches and maybe some chicken eggs if they could get any. The shepherd was going to make stew that his mother used to make.

Despite trading there in the village for years the villagers were still wary of his dogs, a strong pack of seven, scarred and protective of their master. The villagers used to tell stories of those dogs, believed to be descended from the wolves of the mountain who were said to be the messengers of the gods. However, the man raised good sheep and how they thrived up in the mountain where others could not was in itself adding to the mysticism that surrounded the shepherd and his dogs. But they all respected the spirits of the mountain and if they chose to accept this brown skinned shepherd it was not their place to question. The gods of the mountain were vengeful ones, the mountain itself rumoured to be so old that it is the same place where men descended in the times of old as a punishment by the gods.

"Shepherd-sama?" a small child, the son of Rayo came up to the shepherd and the dogs that stood protectively around him gave way and wagged their tails at the familiar child. "Mother sent me to give this to you." He held up an oil lined sack, heavy with roundish things. "She told me to tell you it was an excellent sheep, really fat and tender. But its a shame she couldn't make hash with this"

The man took the item and patted the boy on the head "Tells her she's welcome. We give the gods what to them is due, may the gods of the mountain bless you."

The boy bowed after giving the dogs a few scratches behind the ear.

The shepherd never had any need for a donkey to push his cart, a few of the dogs were strapped down with carrying bags and seemed more than eager to carry loads and some were almost if not a little bigger than he was.

The sun was beginning to set when they shepherd and his flock made their way up the mountain again, the sheep at least were able to pasture that day having gone to the nearby lake which had frozen over they found a lot to eat by the water's side. The shepherd paused when the dogs began barking and nudging him, leading him in a direction a little way away from the path. One of the dogs led his hand near the ground and he touched upon an unconscious man, near death in the cold.

The shepherd wasted no time and easily lifted the man up from the blanket of snow and laid him on one of the biggest dogs, draping his own outer heavy coat over him. He picked up his staff and hurried his pack and his flock up the steep mountain path.

They arrived home near nightfall, the echo of howls telling the shepherd the long night had just begun.

**A/N: sooooo should I continue? : ) this story might be a sequel but you don't really need to read the first on to understand that story. This sequel was inspired by the song Wolves by Iron and Wine go go listen to it cause its awesome xD. Thank you also for all who offered to beta for me but unfortunately I'm back in school and very busy so updates will be a little slow ODM might go under revision so I'll ask for your help then :D thanks again. **


	2. Chapter 1: Strangers

The Shepherd's Dog

Author: remthedogsitter

Rating: M

Summary: It's been five years since Iruka left the village on an important mission and Kakashi has been searching for him ever since. Kakashi's journey leads him deep into iron country where he is later rescued by a shepherd and his eight dogs. Will Kakashi manage to solve the mystery and save Iruka in time?

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto or their characters in any shape or form

**Chapter 1: Strangers **

Kakashi's whole body tensed as he slowly regained consciousness, his last memory being chased after a group of unknown men into the forest. He was drugged and paralyzed when he black out in the snow and most likely was left for dead or maybe even the more sinister purpose of torturing secrets out of him. He realized he was not bound and there was a bitter taste in his mouth. He stayed still feigning sleep hoping to get a better idea of where he was.

"You're awake Shinobi-san?"

The jounin's eye shot open, that voice he's been replaying over and over in his head for the past five years. "Iruka?" the question was quiet as if he was afraid of the answer. Too many times was he in this situation, of hopeful doubt.

It was. It was Iruka, the same tan skin, the scar, the long hair free and settled around his shoulders before he could believe it to be true he looked into the man's eyes to not be faced by brown but a murky white. The man was blind. "Iruka?" he repeated the question. He couldn't care less if the man was paralyzed for life, as long as he was here.

"People here usually call me Shepherd, Shinobi-san." The man explained, his hands busily crushing some plants with a stone mortar and pestle. "For so long I sometimes have trouble remembering what my parents called me, but you may call me what you wish."

Kakashi had already pushed himself up to a sitting position before realizing the dogs were watching him, scattered around the room, the same pups he helped raise. Aya was sitting closest to Iruka, her fox like tail twitching at the end as she watched him curiously. He expected her to say something, some sort of explanation but she didn't.

"I found you in the woods. You were lucky that I did or you would be buried under ten feet of snow." His motioned his head to the noise outside the window, a blizzard was letting its wrath out on the mountain. He heard bleating of sheep coming from under the floorboards near the pit that served as fireplace. There was a pot hanging from a hook attached to the ceiling as something bubbled and squeaked inside.

"Thank you." Was all he could manage to say. True he was relieved but this man didn't remember him or at least that is what it appeared to be. He tried to stand but his left leg wouldn't allow it. It felt numb at least and tended for in the form of bandages and the odd smell of herbs.

"Its not frostbite, it seems you were poisoned by something." the shepherd explained lifting the lid of the pot without so much as a mitten, steam instantly rising from the contents and he suddenly got a rumble from his stomach. "I let you drink a herb tea earlier if you don't remember but I'm not sure if we can get your leg to recover as quickly as you would like." Iruka placed the crushed plants into the broth when Ran carried in his mouth a the handle of a basket that contained bowls and spoons and things. The shepherd without so much as looking instantly went for two bowls and ladle.

Iruka went closer to Kakashi, Ran following a little after. The jounin took the bowl that was being offered to him and he looked at the contents, cubes of meat and murky soup speckled with green. Ran looked him, shaking his head a little to make the contents of the basket to clatter. Iruka took a spoon from the basket and Kakashi mimicked the action, satisfied Ran went back to join his brother.

"Bone marrow soup Shinobi-san, to get your strength back." The other man said pulling out a small cloth package that he placed between them, it was full of small rolls of bread big enough to fit in his palm.

When Iruka started eating, the other sceptically followed. This could all still be a trap but the broth was rich, made from the roasted bones and marrow of sheep. Kakashi found himself closing his eyes contentedly as the soup warmed his insides but there was still that nagging thought at the back of his mind. When he Ran was close enough he caught a glimpse of a red scar in the dip of the dog's collarbone and Aya had something similar as well.

For now at least he was safe, if the enemy ninja wanted him dead they would have done so. The taste of the soup brought about a certain melancholy and nostalgia along with it, not the taste per se but it was the company. After five years here he was, sharing a meal with the man he's been searching for. For now that was enough, he needed to recover if he was going to solve this mystery. He lay down to sleep beneath the layers of fleece and an old quilt and let his eye wander to Iruka working in a corner spinning some wool from a large pile. And for a second he felt some peace.

-0—0—010101010101001

"What is this I hear Tala, about men hunting in our woods?" Adal asked his grey tail swishing about from his stone perch in the cave.

"Only their own kind, my moon." The she wolf said gnawing on a leg bone, her red fur stained with an even darker red.

He contemplated what she said, there were times this happened and times the humans would hunt in the woods as well. His nose cringed however when he remembered the stories of the snake man that killed the strongest pack of the mountain led by his distant grand uncle. It was useful to be wary especially with humans, there was however some exception when those creatures somehow are able to make the same connection with the spirits as they could. In the end, they all honor the same vengeful gods that breathed into the mountain, gurgled the earth and lit up the sky.

The sheep man who lived further up the path lived with his kin. Strange creatures with the blood of wolves but at the same time that of men and they called the sheep man their sun. But they share the bond of a pack and their blood is true, even if only a little, and the land has accepted them and made their sheep thrive.

"Time is near Tala, summon Nuntis for me, we meet with the sheepman tonight and fulfil our vows to dance with him." Adal stretched his large form before shaking his fur and howling deep, the sound did not echo but others heard and answered.

**A/N: Tala means red wolf and Nuntis means female wolf, Adal means noble : )) reviews are love ok gimme loooove hehe I left clues!**


	3. Chapter 2: Shadows

** The Shepherd's Dog**  
><strong>Author:<strong> remthedogsitter  
><strong>Rating:<strong> M  
><strong>Summary<strong>: It's been five years since Iruka left the village on an important mission and Kakashi has been searching for him ever since. Kakashi's journey leads him deep into iron country where he is later rescued by a shepherd and his eight dogs. Will Kakashi manage to solve the mystery and save Iruka in time?  
><strong>Disclaimer:<strong>I don't own Naruto or their characters in any shape or form  
><strong>AN:** IM NOT DEAD

**Chapter 2: Shadows**

These were hard times he could tell as much, the sheep continued their bleating from under the floorboards. A storm had been ravaging the cabin for the past few nights now. The shepherd had left the shelter of the room to go what Kakashi thought could be a basement or some kind of make shift barn, but how many times the man left the ninja couldn't remember. The poison in his bloodstream just sent him in and out of consciousness almost without warning and its been a few nights of throwing up and numbness before the herbs being fed to him were taking a more calming effect.

The shinobi sat propped up against the wall on the far corner, content most times just to be watching Iruka from across the room. They hadn't talked that much, the man genuinely didn't seem to remember him even after hearing his name and hints of their village. Kakashi stroked Aya, his fingers entwined in her fur with each passing, sometimes lingering to feel the warmth beneath his finger tips. The fox like dog gave something between a growl and a purr in pleasure allowing his ministrations, the dogs didn't seem to remember him either but from what he collected they all shared the same scar near the dip of their collar bone. The mark was circular but it didn't look to be any sort of special marking but a curse mark wasn't actually out of the question.

"Shinobi-san will you come with me tonight?" Iruka said, not looking up from the wood he was carving.

"Where will that be Shepherd?" Kakashi muttered, there was a small curl in his chest and his hand resting on Aya closed into a loose fist.

"Between the wolf territory and the village. There's a sort of celebration tonight and I have to bring a few sheep for the feast." He said with a sort of finality, a flat tone in his voice, this Iruka was quite skilled at dismissing conversation. The man picked up his staff, curved at the end, deep groves etched into intricate scenes of the life of a shepherd. Protecting his sheep, bringing them up the mountain to pasture, rescuing lambs from ravines amongst other things he couldn't make out just yet in the dancing light of the fire.

He remembers using that staff to get about the small space of the cabin to the outhouse and back, more to work his bad leg than anything. He developed a sort of limp with the numbness of his leg knee down but Iruka only assured him it would get better with time and movement where so the poison could be better circulated.

Iruka handed him the wood he had been working on, a thick staff without the curve his own had. "A traveler's staff." He said simply, bringing out the thicker coats meant for travel outside made of layers of wool and fleece.

It still amazed him how the man could navigate with no sight at all, in passing Iruka had told that story about how his parents told him he had been blind since birth or at least that is the story the Shepherd believed and for now without any proof otherwise Kakashi could merely bide his time. With the few moments he collected enough chakra to use his sharingan he realized Iruka had been using chakra whether consciously or not together with the guidance of his staff.

Kakashi received the gift before he stood up, his strength was coming back but he wasn't sure if he could trust himself with navigating the mountain path just yet.

Ran and Izo were already waiting at the bottom of the stone and wood steps, carved and crafted into the mountain face it seems, the only part of the cabin visible to the outside was only the front part with the door and the gate beneath to where the sheep were.

Two rams and two ewes, they ranged from the color brown and white and one had a mixture of both. The male's were young, maybe just yearlings, their horns large and curved and they held their heads high, the females had a little horn showing too on the top of their head. They weren't like the domesticated sheep he had seen around in fire country, dumb things that would chew on anything. Instead these sheep regarding him with a sort of intelligence and with a respect towards the dogs in which the dogs did the same.

It was late in the afternoon and the few hours of daylight were already fading. Small lights began appearing as the horizon revealed the small village at the base of the mountain. Kakashi pulled his coat closer to him, hiding his face more into the hood to hide his hair, the ninja that was after him from before could still be around.

They were met at the village entrance by what seemed to be the chief of the settlement and he greeted the shepherd warmly. They accepted two of sheep and said a few words of payment and the man's wife handed Iruka a small package which he received with a smile before slipping it into a canvas bag at his side. As they made their way up back the path Iruka took a right following a smaller goat path leading up to a plateau that lead deeper into the mountain.

It was night time now and Kakashi held on to leather collar for support to lead him through as he stumbled occasionally on the uneven ground, his traveler's staff not helping as much as he would have hoped.

Eventually, he saw a spark light up the night, illuminating Iruka's face for a brief moment until the fire began. The other dogs aside from Kaimu and those guarding the sheep were shuffling about the clearing gathering firewood. Iruka led the two sheep near the fire and tied them with rope and a makeshift stake driven into the ground.

Pleased with his handiwork Iruka made his way towards Kakashi and lay out a canvas sheet for him to rest on. "Try not to make a sound Shinobi-san." He cautioned bending down near to the man's face for emphasis as sound from the village were getting louder. The sound of drum beats, chanting, the noise of broken glass touching, sending their chimes into the air.

The shepherd sat down on the trunk of a dead tree and waited. The howls of wolves echoed throughout the woods, surrounding the clearing in sound and Kakashi saw the glowing eyes from the dark crevices of the forest. The wolves were coming here and the dogs answered their calls with their own howls. The dogs had gathered at the Shepherd's feet, Kaimu had curled around Kakashi watching like he did the events that were unfolding.

A large red wolf broke away from the pack and stood in the clearing, its yellow eyes not leaving where Iruka was. The Shepherd stood with his staff and approached the center still some way away from the fire. Kakashi was not sure if it was a dance or well placed running about the clearing but Iruka's ninja skills showed, his speed and the deliberate movements and the wolf as well was not just a instinctual beast. The kept up with the rhythm of the song, other wolves soon joining in and it became a flurry of color and the Shepherd's song when he brought out a wooden flute from his bag.

Soon, there was a solemn pause of pace as the red wolf and Iruka looked at each other, though the man was blind even without the sharingan he could feel the strong surge of chakra between the two. The red wolf tore into the ram's neck, the ram somehow was silent not resisting to the sound of the crack of its windpipe. Iruka slit the ewe's throat and the blood of both sheep mingled in a spray. The shepherd pulled small wooden cup and drank the mixed blood and the wolf drank from the pool on the ground.

There was silence for a few moments, the wolf howled deep, the sound the only echo throughout the woods because the music from the village stopped as well. When the wolf was quiet the music began again from the beginning, the tension in the air had faded as they all partook of the meat of the sheep. Wolves, dogs and man were together at the same table like brothers. Iruka later on brought a large chunk of roast sheep to him, wine in a skin and half a loaf of bread. "Drink all the wine Shinobi-san and get warm."

Kakashi was too tired to protest, the whole ritual somehow had lulled him slowly and his mind was swimming. In the half light however he saw a large wolf, bigger than a horse, come out from the dark to join the dance, its fur was crimson but Kakashi knew from the three sets of eyes though only two were open. A piercing emerald color glowed and met his own eye.

The wolf dipped its head respectfully in greeting. "Moon of my brothers."

It was Shinjiru.

**A/N: sorry this chap took so long I'm so busy with college xD but the good news is since I'm doing a story collection for my thesis I've been getting the classes on improving my writing craft, do you see the difference in this chapter? Hehe remember I love you all and review are love. I'll update when I can : )**


	4. Chapter 3: Self

**The Shepherd's Dog **  
><strong>Author:<strong> remthedogsitter  
><strong>Rating:<strong> M  
><strong>Summary<strong>: It's been five years since Iruka left the village on an important mission and Kakashi has been searching for him ever since. Kakashi's journey leads him deep into iron country where he is later rescued by a shepherd and his eight dogs. Will Kakashi manage to solve the mystery and save Iruka in time?  
><strong>Disclaimer: <strong>I don't own Naruto or their characters in any shape or form  
><strong>AN:** is anyone still reading this?

**Chapter 3: Self**

Kakashi froze at the sound of the wolf's voice that rose above the drumbeats. His whole body tensed and Kaimu cuddled around him whined softly, nuzzling his side gently and a heavy paw on his good leg to keep him from standing. His hand reached down to grip his staff thinking he may have no other choice.

"Be still Shinobi." Shinjiru gave him a lupine grin as it settled on its haunches a respectful distance away however close enough to be able to nibble on some of the sheep. "Would you believe me if I said I am here as a friend and not your enemy?"

Kakashi remained silent, his sharingan beneath the cloth covering his eye swirled madly of its own accord. Shinjiru stared into his eye with the normal pair of eyes he had, the sharingan and byakugan closed and its breath whirled into clouds about his face half lit by the fire.

"I will not harm you." He said gently, laying his head down on his paws as he sunk to the ground, munching on a sheep leg. "Do you know this night? This place? Wolf and man meet here and renew their covenant with the earth. There is much you don't know I think and much you and I must overcome."

"Why should I trust you?" His head felt thick and heavy, he barely noticed himself leaning against Kaimu for support.

"Any hatred quelled gives room to reason... and for this." The wolf inched a little closer to the man and sent out a small sliver of chakra in his direction. "I had been welcomed into your pack that is in pieces now, the connection muddled, the sun is covered and the moon has fallen dark into an eclipse." He began to speak in riddles.

Kakashi felt it however, the layers of delicate chakra with Iruka's, the old Iruka's chakra had weaved together. They were still whole within the crimson colored beast and his charka was true, clear and welcoming.

"However I cannot speak with you in length here, neither the time nor the place." He said quietly leaning in closer to the white haired man. "I can say though, let go of the world you came from, of who you thought you were. You're no longer a shinobi but a stranger in this place, in the same way that your love from then is no longer now, not a shinobi but a shepherd of not just sheep but the spirits of this place."

As quick as he came the crimson wolf took his leave, the other wolves and dogs did not acknowledge him but when he bowed to their leader and to Iruka they did as well.

Kakashi's chin hit his chest, asleep.

"Iruka, what happened last night?" Kakashi asked as the shepherd laid out a canvas sheet so they could have lunch. The weather had took a turn for the better and the man led them to take the sheep out to pasture where they could.

The shepherd began unpacking their lunch first however, pastys a little larger than both his hands put together. He handed him the bigger piece and began to dig into his own.

Kakashi watched Iruka holding it almost like a watermelon and bit into the center. He followed the example with a tentative bite on his piece, before he could stop himself he let out a small pleased groan. The filling was thinly cut strips of beef, cubes of sweet potato and tender pods of green peas and it was still pleasantly warm.

"In this place, this mountain it is believed that men were born from the love of a wolf and a god." The shepherd explained between bites of his food and swigs of ale from the skin between them. "It was taboo of course, because the gods of the mountain were very much fickle and the wolves were only their messengers to the beasts of the earth. The god was killed and became this mountain, the she-wolf bore the first humans that had intelligence and speech. There were already some sort of mankind on earth at that time but they were simple minded like beasts and couldn't speak."

Kakashi waited for Iruka to continue his story, watching the sheep digging in the snow and grazing on the grass that hid beneath.

"In other places, wolves are killed and seen as enemies or competition for land and food but here we acknowledge them as brothers and have old blood rules. They shall not hunt our animals and we shall respect their land and sometimes we exchange gifts such as the protection of the village for sheep. They will only eat sheep that has been slaughtered for them and they let us hunt on their land as well during certain times of the year." He wiped his hands on his pants and took up his shepherd's staff again and without another word went back to the dogs and sheep.

"Knowing the illusion is not enough to break it."A familiar voice whispered, somewhere behind him and true enough Shinjiru was there curled around a few trees comfortably. "We are in my sister's illusion, an illusion tailored on top of reality so much so it may be impossible to differentiate the two. Is the illusion copying reality or reality copying the illusion?"

Kakashi stared at him, he was sure he didn't feel the presence a few moments ago. "Your sister's illusion?"

"The creature that the sun of my brothers followed, another that escaped from the snake man." He nodded his head. "After my spirit was cleansed I searched for my roots and found my way back here to the land of my ancestors where the spirits are strong. It was by pure chance I saw my brothers and that creature here but I was unable to do anything. Hence here we are in an illusion."

The copy nin remained silent, thinking over the information. If Iruka and the pups were unable to escape for five years now, what could he do that they haven't done?

"Knowing the illusion is not enough to break it." he repeated "You must be within it, accepting it genuinely then you must break free from it. It becomes the equivalent of rejecting reality itself, rejecting what you believed as truth. In short, I must make this illusion my reality, and my life as a ninja the dream."

It was Shinjiru's turn to stare and smile. "Somewhere in this place is where my sister keeps her heart. Take it to draw her out and maybe there we will stand a chance."

To lose my self. Kakashi swallowed, thinking of Iruka and what they had and the home that was waiting for them. If he changed, if he was not himself would he still love the man he spent all this time searching for? He took to another way of thinking however if I become a man that is not Kakashi perhaps he will love the man that is now not Iruka and in turn would love him back. It was a gamble.

"When you sleep tonight I shall help you accept this world and dream of the other. You won't remember me or our plan, you will just know. It is already a part of your self that does not forget, try to find his as well." The crimson wolf smiled again before disappearing. "Jibun wo shinjiru as my mother said."

Believe in your self.

**A/N: Ok things are getting weird in the story : )) raise your hand if your still reading this story cause I'm not sure if people still are xD reviews keep me writing k? hmm the next chap im half way through already mwhahaha the story is just beginning**


	5. Chapter 4: Sense and Sensuality i

The Shepherd's Dog  
>Author: remthedogsitter<br>Rating: M  
><strong>Summary<strong>: It's been five years since Iruka left the village on an important mission and Kakashi has been searching for him ever since. Kakashi's journey leads him deep into iron country where he is later rescued by a shepherd and his eight dogs. Will Kakashi manage to solve the mystery and save Iruka in time?  
>Disclaimer:I don't own Naruto or their characters in any shape or form<p>

**Chapter 4: Sense and Sensuality (i)**

"_KAKASHI-SENSEEEIIIII!" three children screamed at him, well two of them did, the third raven haired boy merely glared daggers at him. "Late again? You know FIVE HOURS LATE." _

_ "Mah I had to save this old lady from-" the silver haired jounin smiled waving his arms in front of him in the 'don't attack me sort of manner'. _

_ The bickering of the three continued until a tan skinned man came along, distracting the blond child who began screaming "Iruka-sensei!" and proceeded to tackle hug the new comer who seemed more than happy to catch him. _

_ The scene changed to a forest, hiding in the bush, breathing heavy and a kunai held tightly in his hand. He formed a few hand seals and instantly a pack of ninken appeared and scattered. There was an enemy close by. _

_ There was a flash again, very briefly of being in the bed of an apartment, the sheets smelled of fabric softener and sweat and there was a man next to him in bed. Cuddled up to him breathing slowly with a smile on his face._

Kakashi blinked awake, waiting for his eyes to focus before he groaned a little and rolled over in his cocoon of warm quilts. Another weird dream, he stretched like a cat for a moment before relaxing again.

"Kohai you awake already? Come eat breakfast." There was no urgency in the voice, the same calm was hiding beneath the tone and there was the smell of chocolate.

The white haired man looked in the direction of the smell and saw the small pot beside the hearth. Iruka was hunched kneading some dough large plastic sheet. Sometimes it was amazing that his sensei was blind and yet seemed like he wasn't. He had moved in a few years ago when the shepherd found him wandering in the woods and almost getting attacked by wolves because of his carelessness. After his mother died he was just drifting from this job to that until finally he decided after spending a few weeks with the man he was going to be a shepherd.

"Good morning sempai." He stretched again before literally rolling out of bed before sitting beside Iruka already forming large crescent shaped pies. "I had a weird dream again last night."

"About?" the man raised an eyebrow as his hands finished off the last of the six pies he was going to hide away.

"A really big village, somewhere warm..." he said wistfully grabbing a bowl from the basket on the floor. "With a lot of kids."

Kakashi peeked into the pot to see the rare treat of hot chocolate, he grinned and looked at the shepherd, a treat like this always had a catch.

"We're going up to the shrine today." He said as if he was answering a voiced question. "The dogs can take care of the sheep in the valley when we go up."

The white haired man considered the information as he picked up a ladle and spooned some into his mug and bowl of rice which had a little bit of salted mutton as well. Going up to the shrine meant a bath in the hot spring, pleasant in itself but visiting there always left him unsettled as if he had forgotten to do something.

-)0000-(-

Kakashi let his staff rest against gnarled tree as wiggled out of thick clothing and trying as neatly as possible to hand them on the branches. The wind began to lap at his back and he shivered a little before he could tie a small towel around his waist. He walked the short distance back to the half covered basin of hot spring water being fed by a cracks in the mountain face. Slowly he lowered himself into the water, the wisps of steam more evident against the cold wind and snow in the area. He smiled lowering himself until the water was just below his nose before he let his sore muscles relax.

He heard the tap of food against the rock and he looked to see Iruka, naked and well decorated with scars. The man's blind eyes merely looked ahead, tracing the end of his staff on the floor confirming to himself where he was. Kakashi swallowed, it was not his first time to his sempai naked but that didn't exactly help his reaction. The water was hot but his blood threatened to be hotter as it pooled uncomfortably between his legs. He watched the intricacies of the man's muscled form, the dip of his thighs and the firmness of his legs earned through the navigation of this rough terrain.

His sempai had indulged him one time or another in the past, in the middle of the night when the cold brought them so close together but only with his hand or mouth and nothing past that. The man sat across him, eyes closed enjoying the hot water. Kakashi inched closer to him in a way that made his attentions clear, almost as if he was asking permission. Iruka didn't move but he faced the man's direction, welcoming his advances in a subtle way.

The white haired man turned shy for a moment, he paused in front of his sempai close enough to trace the small nuances of his face with his fingers, the raised flesh of the scar across the bridge of his nose, the closed eyes that hid a thick milky white like fog. He placed a chaste kiss on his mouth and almost jumped when a hand moved in the water to hold his manhood.

He gasped into the kiss and Iruka took the opportunity to explore his mouth, his free hand guiding him until his kohai was straddled to his waist before his hand began to stroke the both of them.

Kakashi whimpered and bucked his hips as he came and Iruka followed soon after, biting into his shoulder. They paused for a moment, the white haired man leaning on his sempai for support, face buried into the crook of his shoulder, both of them just breathing and he wanted this to last, this closeness. The shepherd wrapped his arms around him for a moment before slipping out of the water, without a word going back to where he left his clothes.

Kakashi sat there a moment longer, looking up to the sky. "What's stopping us from being together?" he sighed to no one in particular. True, the feeling of lust was mutual but is that all there is? His head felt heavy again as if he was swimming, another onset of a headache. He felt something in his chest curl for a moment, he couldn't ask any more that the man was willing to give him even though he felt he could his shepherd the world.

**A/N: Any thoughts so far? xD or any possible suggestions to scenarios you want to see? R and R please i'll try to get the next chap written asap **


	6. Chapter 5: Breaking at the Seams

**The Shepherd's Dog**  
><strong>Author<strong>: remthedogsitter  
><strong>Rating<strong>: M  
><strong>Summary:<strong> It's been five years since Iruka left the village on an important mission and Kakashi has been searching for him ever since. Kakashi's journey leads him deep into iron country where he is later rescued by a shepherd and his eight dogs. Will Kakashi manage to solve the mystery and save Iruka in time?  
><strong>Disclaimer<strong>: I don't own Naruto or their characters in any shape or form

**Chapter 5: Breaking at the Seams**

"… we're just two lost souls swimming in fish bowl year after year"

wish you were here, pink Floyd

The foliage crunched with each step they took up the mountain path. Each sound echoed in his head twice over as a headache was starting to form. Kakashi began rubbing at his temple, falling a bit behind from the shepherd who walked the path with a familiarity as he easily found his footing that he himself was prone to slip on once in a while.

After a few minutes Kakashi started thinking about the staff in his hands again, the intricacies that he traces every night before bed and some part of him swelled with pride that his shepherd made this just for him. They were carvings of the world as his shepherd had put it, his, no their world at least. He smiled despite the headache and picked up the pace to keep up.

There was still a few hours before sunset when they heard the howl of wolves. Not a whole pack, just one or two judging by the tone, Iruka had told him in passing before that this part of the mountain was sacred and no blood may be spilled here unless the gods themselves spilled it and for wolves only their pack leaders were allowed. This is the place where the wolf god and a human met after all and where she bore the first men.

/

"Can you accept you've already died uncle? You're just a spirit now and my sister is blocking your way from joining the ancestors in the mountain." There was no malice in his voice, just a wistfulness.

"You lie." Hr growled, white and grey fur bristling and claws digging into the damp earth.

"What happened when the snake man came uncle?" his gaze was distant, towards the direction of the shrine in the mountain. His parents were there, Navaho and Ixkin, consulting with the gods most likely or they went on a pilgrimage around the land and left his uncle in charge.

Adal roared and lunged at his throat. The size difference was obvious, Shinjiru towered over him and with a swipe of his paw the attack was stopped.

"I'm sorry for what happened that day, that I never got to meet you and run with you." He turned to leave but the other with a hurt pride lunged again.

Shinjiru snapped back, leaving a gash in Adal's side with his fangs. "I'm leaving."

Adal watched him, crouched low in a defensive position, fangs still bared and blood was spreading on the thin blanket of snow. He stayed like that until Tala found him.

/

Iruka stopped, the shrine was already close by but perched up on a stone ahead were two wolves, one a little dog like and merle colored and the other a large crimson male.

"Navaho, Ixkin." Iruka tilted his head in acknowledgement and the two did the same. Kakashi did the same, he had heard those names somewhere before but he couldn't remember where. After a few moments the shepherd and the wolves looking each other over, the wolves moved on.

Iruka's concentration faltered and he almost lost his step, he felt the beginning migraine starting the closer the came to opening of the shrine. Getting to the top he paused, breathing slowly before he began guiding Kakashi with his words. There were motions he had to learn if he was going to be a shepherd.

Two statues sat at the opening of the cave, a wolf and another god deity. The natural crevices in the walls became shelves for the sheep heads already in various stages of decomposition but the temperature was low enough to preserve them to a degree. Animals from the woods traveled up this mountain to pass on, somewhere beyond the cave outside was a bone yard and somewhere was also the graveyard for wolves.

Iruka blinked into the darkness, his eyes felt warm. The temperature was dropping, the night was coming. The shepherd leaned back against the wall and sunk to the ground he just felt so warm and his grip tightened around his staff. _Where am I?_

Kakashi had only meant to check what was wrong with his sempai, their faces an arm's length away from each other as he crouched down next to the man. To his surprise Iruka turned and kissed him, arm curled around the back of his neck to keep him in place. _How much time do i have this time?_

"Fuck Kakashi please tell me you're real." Iruka had tears running down his face. The sky began to rumble. "Damn it. Run." This happened only a few times before but he knew he wouldn't be able to stand, the illusion was almost perfect if not for the few places that it would falter every once in a while where it was weak at the seams. Iruka had experienced this first hand one time or another but only for a few minutes with a mind splitting headache.

Kakashi wide eyed stared at him, one of his eyes were slowly turning the familiar red of the sharingan. Iruka could see he was remembering but not fast enough. With the strength he could muster he pushed him away just as the thunder illuminated the darkening sky. "She wants me. RUN. I'll be safe trust me."

The white haired man stumbled, a hand over his eye that was beginning to burn. There was the howl of wolves again that Kakashi had only heard once before, it was a hunting cry. The last time had been against a rival pack, they were wiped out in a single night. Kakashi swore under his breath looking at Iruka one last time who was still pleading for him to run, reluctantly he did after hearing the howls coming closer.

Seeing Kakashi disappear into the woods heading south Iruka curled up around himself, mentally kicking himself for being unable to fight back against the illusion. She was mad as the vision around him was collapsing into itself and expanding again as she was redoing the illusion from the weak tear they were in. Ever so slowly Iruka felt a slimy coldness creeping into his mind as hard as he fought it his world still went dark again.

The sharingan was on overdrive sensing chakra all around him draped over everything like dust, everything was pulsing with energy but even stronger were the dense balls of chakra chasing after him. He had seen this wolf pack before, ate at their table and seen their pups and he's seen them fight and tear something apart. His mind felt heavy as he tried to remember, he had stumbled a few times down the path. Were the wolves really after him? His face was full of scratches from branches and his skin felt numb since he lost his coat to a tree somewhere far back. He gripped his staff tightly trying to make sense of everything when suddenly he was flipped into the air before he landed on something furry.

"Hold on tightly." Shinjiru cautioned as he clawed his way up a pine tree and took to the canopy instead where the wolf pack wouldn't be able to reach them.

A/N: a few revisions here :D


	7. Chapter 6: Changing Tides

**The Shepherd's Dog**  
><strong>Author<strong>: remthedogsitter  
><strong>Rating<strong>: M  
><strong>Summary:<strong> It's been five years since Iruka left the village on an important mission and Kakashi has been searching for him ever since. Kakashi's journey leads him deep into iron country where he is later rescued by a shepherd and his eight dogs. Will Kakashi manage to solve the mystery and save Iruka in time?  
><strong>Disclaimer<strong>: I don't own Naruto or their characters in any shape or form

**Chapter 6: Changing Tides**

"What moonsongs do you sing your baby?

What sunshine do you bring?"

–Luna, Smashing Pumpkins

The snow was frozen in the air and nothing stirred except for the creak of branches being weighed down as Shinjiru maneuvered through the treetops till he arrived at the opening of a cavern. Time standing still (literally) began the moment the Shinjiru took Kakashi and fled from the mountain and the wolf pack's howls that were chasing them.

He shook the snow from his fur before going inside. There was a small pit in the middle with a pile of wood kindling, the pelts of various animals including wolves lined the floor and some parts of the wall and a work table was deeper inside with various guns and ammunition on top of it.

"How much do you remember?" Shinjiru asked slipping Kakashi down near the warmth. One couldn't even here the cackle of the wood burning, with all of time standing still.

"My name is Kakashi Hatake. I am a… Shepherd… no a Shinobi of Konoha." He muttered, a palm pressed into his spinning eye. His head felt like it was splitting, all the memories were jumbled and contradicting with each other. "We're in a… illusion…save Iruka."

"That's enough for now." The wolf curled around him, taking gently with his jaws the shepherd's staff and most of the man's clothing that was beginning to soak from the melting snow. "She's doing something drastic, a major revision in the illusion because of what happened between you two." He gestured with his muzzle how everything was frozen. "But… this is actually to our advantage. She's made you an enemy of her world… hunter." The wolf grinned almost sinisterly and the white haired man could feel the killing intent, so reminiscent of the monster he once was in Orochimaru's lab.

Kakashi blinked his eyes slowly as he felt the heat from his eye fading and at the same time his headache melting as something cold began to slither into his consciousness.

"Now it wont matter if I give some of your memories back, she's building her defenses." He muttered as an after thought. "I wont have to keep them from you now because you're 'natural' enough in the illusion after all this time of being in it."

The man opened his mouth to speak but his body refused to move, it felt like a waking dream where the body was completely numbed. The illusion, was being pulled tightly like fitting on a new skin before it could be loosened.

"You must listen now, moon of my brothers, when you wake up, you'll be the hunter of this world so take the guns you've been given in this illusion and hunt. You'll remember our plan (to provoke the experiment in any way possible to get her into the open), we already risked so much and so much time just for this shot. She's getting sloppy. We'll have our chance Kakashi."

_He was with the dogs walking on a bright sunlight path through the forest, they were just traveling away from waterfall where they met an experiment who turned out to be protecting a child in a little cave by the sea. It was wolf with scales like a fish but she was their kin. It was a good ending really for the second to the last pup they found a home for. Kaimu the largest had reached his full size, larger than a miniature pony and the other pups aren't pups anymore. Nao reminded him so much of Kakashi that thinking of it sent a pang of pain through his gut, such strong chakras inside him however cause a lot of mental instability in the past where the white dog would just stare at nothing. Soon he would see the man he loved soon after this one last lead in to Iron Country. _

_You're supposed to be doing something. It sounded like his own voice but not quite. The world is black._

Iruka opened his eyes and experimentally blinked for a few minutes. A dream. A very very weird dream. He sat up groggily, his hand meeting a furry head which he patted before reaching his staff. He went through the motions of his morning, preparing hot oatmeal and warming the offal stew for the dogs as well. He frowned realizing as he mixed the pot that contained his breakfast that he had made too much again. He stroked Aya's head when she placed herself under his hand, he felt uneasy.

The forest and the sheep were feeling tense as well over the past week when he had taken them to graze. The winter was taking a turn for the worst and it showed in how the sheep bleated at the end of the day telling him they were still hungry. The wolves hunted almost every night as well and that was saying something about how slim the pickings were. Then there was the added stress of the hunter in the woods.

/

The man sipped his drink at the bar, shot gun slung over his shoulder alongside an intricately carved wood of a metal pointed spear. The men from the village talked in their own little groups, they were staring into his back.

"That crazy hunter still alive eh? I'm surprised the wolves haven't eaten him yet."

"Oh when they get their chance you bet your wife they would."

"I bet that 'er shepherd wasn't none too happy seeing him hunting the wolves."

He finished the remnant of his brandy in one gulp. His white hair was tousled by the snow and hung messily around his angular features. He sported an eye patch and several scars on the skin that could be seen and a black scarf covered the lower half of his face.

"I hear he killed a bear with his bare hands."

"I head he killed a whole prison of bandits when they locked him in there."

The man left his payment on the counter and picked up his more recent purchases of oil and parchment before exiting through the door into the snow storm brewing outside.

"There goes the man who thinks he can kill a god."

/

Iruka knelt down in prayer over the body his dogs had found. It was a wolf whose chest was blown in by a gunshot and blood had splattered into the snow. The shepherd stroked the head of the wolf and prayed it a safe journey up the mountain to meet its ancestors. A little way off he could hear the wolf pack howl a very sad song to the moon.

There was a shadow watching him from somewhere up the trees. Watching. Waiting. "Iruka." The name was muttered so carefully that no one heard it except the night wind. Elsewhere the man could imagine Shinjiru hiding, waiting for a way to provoke the beast and find a tear in the illusion, killing key players in the illusion seemed to incite a reaction. He could remember everything and the life they were supposed to have if this never happened. His gut churned hot with the thought of more than five years of their lives stolen, there would be nothing to lose now. Soon, it would be do or die.

A/N: *breathe* ok have the "revisions" helped?


	8. Chapter 7: Interludes

The Shepherd's Dog

**Chapter 7: Interludes**

A/N: this chapter has been moved to Dog Gone Days (one shots and things in the Dogs Universe) for the reason that its just confusing to put it into the middle of this story.


	9. Chapter 8: Red Moon

**The Shepherd's Dog**  
><strong>Author<strong>: remthedogsitter  
><strong>Rating<strong>: M  
><strong>Summary:<strong> It's been five years since Iruka left the village on an important mission and Kakashi has been searching for him ever since. Kakashi's journey leads him deep into iron country where he is later rescued by a shepherd and his eight dogs. Will Kakashi manage to solve the mystery and save Iruka in time?  
><strong>Disclaimer<strong>: I don't own Naruto or their characters in any shape or form

**Chapter 8: Red Moon**

Recap: Five years after Iruka leaves Konoha on a mission to contain the situation of the missing experiments, Kakashi follows after determined to bring his fiancé back home. He stumbles into the illusion world the last experiment Iruka was supposed to contain and in effect together with Shinjiru form a plan to find a way to break the illusion. Shinjiru takes his memories temporarily and Kakashi becomes part of the illusion world up until their chance appears when both he and Iruka at the same time are caught in a tear in the illusion and temporarily they remember everything about their true lives. Disoriented, Kakashi is forced to flee without Iruka again and Shinjiru brings him to a safe place encouraging him that the experiment or his 'sister' is failing and becoming desperate to hold the illusionary world for much longer. She becomes desperate enough to change the illusion so dramatically that it allows Shinjiru to give Kakashi back his memories because the experiment labels Kakashi now as the enemy of her world of wolves and shepherds in the form of a hunter.

Kakashi stroked the barrel of the shot gun in his hand, he was visibly thinner and his hair was coarser not just because of the weather. There were already inconsistencies in the world they were in like the nights getting longer or the unexplained balloons in the sky and it was only a matter of time before either he or Shinjiru could just push the experiment out into the open.

He walked up the path from the village, now dead silent and he felt like a ghost walking through the streets of freshly fallen snow. He had come in the night, if not for the gun, it felt like a memory of a mindless machine sent out to kill, which at one point he probably was. Flawless. Perfect. A cold killer. Quietly he had opened every door to every house starting with the first one at near the entrance to the village. There was a wife, husband and child. He had killed the parents first but the child had unfortunately woken up, the look of shock and fear frozen on the decapitated head. He did not spare animals either, just to be sure. There were three infants all in all, even one being suckled by the unsuspecting mother. Despite what Shinjiru said about that village in the real world being abandoned it did not change the screams that he had heard that night as he was splattered with blood, this time there was no ANBU mask to hold on to to encourage him of the division of monster and man. There was only himself. Kakashi.

He steeled himself as he traveled deeper into the woods.

He watched Iruka from a distance, from up in the branches of trees, the corpses of wolves saddened the man but other than that he couldn't draw a reaction helpful to his cause. The phases of the moon were inconsistent as well, the full moon instead of being three weeks away was only few days away from completion. He wondered about the risks of the plan now, does dying in this world mean they'd be dead in the real world?

_He cuddled the black pup close to his chest, Kaimu's breath was coming sporadically and the thermometer told him the fever was getting out of hand. He slipped the pup into his vest and put on his raincoat and before leaving through the window made sure the other pups would be sleeping peacefully with Iruka for at least another few hours before running out into the rain. The curtain of rain was so thick he could barely see past arm's length in the dark. Finally he reached his destination, tapping urgently on the window Tsunade let him enter._

"_Brat you better have a good reason for waking me up at 3am." She said crankily and brushing off the alerted ANBU._

_He wasted no time and present the pup to her, Kaimu was wiggling uncomfortably but otherwise he was dry. Kakashi on the other hand was soaked in a lot of places where the wind blew rain into his coat. _

_Tsunade took the pup from him. "He has pneumonia."_

"_Can you help him?"_

_Her hands began to glow with chakra and almost immediately the pup stopped wriggling and seemed to relax. Kakashi breathed a sigh of relief. "You on other hand get dry before you catch something worse." She threw a towel in his direction._

"_Thank you." He began drying the worse spots and his hair, only noticing then that he had made a really big puddle. _

_The next day however he was stuck in bed with a recovering puppy while Iruka gave him an earful about running around at night in the rain._

"_For a jounin AND a genius that was a pretty stupid move."_

"_Yeah." He agreed. "Love does that to a person, you know make even the smartest amongst us stupid… You know, like tending to obviously capable people like a mother hen…" He chuckled when the chunin attempted to smother him with a pillow. _

_Images of late nights making puppy food, he and Iruka being dependent on caffeine where three hours of sleep was a blessing, dinners and lunches with Naruto and the pups… _

The seven dogs that he helped raised were running around in the snow to Iruka's side and prodded him with their noses until he scratched them behind the ears.

_He listened to the man breath hotly into the shell of his ear, collapsed on top of him he shared the same pace of breath. Their hearts were slowing down and he felt his cock slip out of his lover's tight entrance. He rolled them over, facing side by side as he brushed the man's hair from his face. They shared a futon on a summer night, the sound of the ninken, one big pack now running outside on a full moon. The pups still had a very wild heart inside their chests and gave something back to their seniors, a song was the best way to put it. They would howl at the moon. There safe in his ancestral home with the door opened to view the field and let the view of the full moon in, there in each other's arms they'd be lulled to sleep. _

_Flashes of them together, the two moments where the man made him hold his breath and gave him the greatest relief by saying yes (the night on the beach, that moments in his house and the rings)… watching Iruka leave that faithful day._

A tear slid down his sad grey eye as he slowly started counting down from a hundred. All the traps were set.

/

Shinjiru stalked silently through the woods of his ancestors, the woods that if the snake man never came would be his inheritance from his parents. He breathed in the scent of pine and hiding animals and scent that marked the wolf territory and when he exhaled his breath became a swirling cloud. He was going to put souls to rest tonight.

_The Sun and Moon of the pack stood on an elevated piece of rock as everyone got to know the newest addition to the family, a pup that looked exactly like his father. He was very much loved, every night sleeping between the warm of both his parents in a well hidden den where his own father was born. He remembered his first hunt, then his first kill an injured caribou buck who had almost killed him with a ram to the side but he was able to counter with a fatal blow to the throat. He had earned his place that moment, when he fed the pack._

Shinjiru brushed the fake memory away, as pleasant as his place in this world where it was so easy to just let go, he owed Iruka more than this.

The large wolf ran towards the direction of the shrine and almost immediately the wolves began their hunting cry. No matter, more than half of them would be caught in all the snares and bear traps that littered the woods. There was the sound of gunshots and more howling, joined by Iruka's pack now.

He skid to a stop, his claws digging into the ground when he reached a clearing that was not there before. Somehow he felt he should know this place. The howls of the wolves were getting closer and there the wolves surrounded him but the pack leaders were still absent. They no longer looked like wolves, a little larger than normal, their eyes only pure white, hackles raised, they bared their white teeth. The pack had been reduced by half but that still left ten not including his parents.

He bared his own teeth and growled, daring them to come at him.

/

Kakashi ran up the path he had planned with Shinjiru, there were only three pups following him now, including Iruka. Up above, it was a clear night absent of clouds and the full moon lighted the forest, aurora lights were there as well violently whipping up in the sky. The experiment was not pleased.

Two distinct snaps were heard, the interval between the two only a few breaths. His eye closed for a few moments, only one pup and Iruka were following him now. He had regained some of shinobi prowess when Shinjiru was able to return some of his memories, he soundless glided through the forest paths steadily ascending up the mountain which now seemed to be higher than normal where every few moment he felt it getting harder and harder to breathe.

With the shrine coming into view another snap was heard.

/

Shinjiru stood in the clearing dumbfound for a few moments, breathing deeply he began running again. His senses were assaulted by the blood and the new image that was burning into his mind. Now it wasn't the work of the snake man or the memories of his mother, despite the illusion what he saw was real to him. By his own fangs and claws he had took apart his pack that had refused to die quietly after being injured but rather until their very hearts could be ripped out of their chests.

He felt Kakashi's presence already nearing their destination, as they wanted the sky began gathering clouds and there was a growl of thunder that rumbled so deep it felt like an earthquake.

/

The large red wolf stood in the clearing of the shrine grounds, eyeing the silver haired hunter who was watching a blind shepherd glare in his general direction. They were joined by two other wolves, his parents that in reality were long dead.

The four figures eyed everyone else, tense and ready for the battle ahead as the sky above them cackled with thunder illuminating the red wolf and the white haired man's forms, covered in blood.

A/N: things ok so far? xD


	10. Chapter 9: Howling at the Moon

**The Shepherd's Dog**  
><strong>Author<strong>: remthedogsitter  
><strong>Rating<strong>: M  
><strong>Summary:<strong> It's been five years since Iruka left the village on an important mission and Kakashi has been searching for him ever since. Kakashi's journey leads him deep into iron country where he is later rescued by a shepherd and his eight dogs. Will Kakashi manage to solve the mystery and save Iruka in time?  
><strong>Disclaimer<strong>: I don't own Naruto or their characters in any shape or form

**Chapter 9: Howling at the Moon**

Shinjiru eyed his parents that at the same time were not his parents. He growled low and the two mimicked his actions as they circled him. Their teeth were bared and their fur stood on end, adrenaline was still running through his veins from the fight just minutes ago when he had to take down his kin. The sharingan and the byakugan were were burning and spinning madly but they were of no use in this world where any other ocular jutsu was nullified. He did not feel like his calculating self and wondered just vaguely what would happen if he forced his way through.

Kakashi slung his shotgun over his back and brought out what was once upon a time his shepherd's staff was now a long spear. He dreaded what he would have to do, just how much he had to hurt the man he loved to aggravate the experiment who was throwing a tantrum in the form of a thunderstorm overhead, it scared him. It scared him that his pups were in bear traps, metal teeth cruelly digging into their limbs to keep them from following them to this place that may as well be their grave. It scared him that this might be the mission he wont come back from. It scared him, that maybe, just maybe, he would have to kill him with his own hands.

The shepherd just faced his general direction, he knew the man didn't carry any weapon aside from a multipurpose dagger and his staff which was the equivalent of a deadly weapon with the amount of skills he wields it. The pained look on his face however, the tears and the hurt from the pain his pack must be feeling and he could feel the wolves in the mountain, his friends, were dead, was enough to challenge Kakashi's resolve.

Kakashi spars with him, as much as possible not using the pointed end of his spear. It was déjà vu, the man's movements were those of a shinobi despite the lack of vision, all his instincts were still there as he looked for a way to disable the hunter in some way, his dagger was still hidden somewhere on his person.

The white haired man only managed to catch a glimpse of Shinjiru at the corner of his eye. The large wolf was well covered in drying blood, his paws wet from the snow that melted from the heat and chakra radiating from his body. There was a maddening look in his eye which creepily reminded him of jounin that have completely lost their sense of sanity. He dodged the staff that was aimed for his head and jumped back, it almost felt odd that both his eyes were normal and one wasn't madly swirling and analyzing the most minute details his opponents movements.

Shijiru roared again as he Ixkin got a good hold of his ear with her fangs as Navaho made a leap for his throat. The wolf dodged and clamped down on the wolf leader's leg that earned him a high pitched whine. Blood splattered on the snow and a bolt of lightning hit the middle ground of their battlefield. A high pitched screeching sound could be heard coming from the sky instead of a loud boom of thunder.

He was holding back until now, but finally it was sinking in that there would be no other way, he prepared to kill the first opportunity he got.

"Forgive me, Iruka." Kakashi pulled his mask down, lunging at the man with the sharp end of his spear when he was able to corner the man against the stone. The spear pierced through his ribs and a he let out a cry of pain. Kakashi cried as he watched Iruka's grey eyes slowly turning the color of brown that he had come to know and love. Their bodies pressed so close together they could hear each other's labored breaths. His hands holding the spear were shaking, slowly he places on hand on the sides of Iruka's face. "What have she done to the man I love?" his voice sounded broken and with each moment Iruka's features gained the familiarity they had with him.

"Kakashi?" the man said weakly with a smile. "It's ok…" before slumping his head against his love's shoulder. the white haired man could only comfort himself that the man was still breathing as he slowly lowered him to the ground, spear still sticking out of his body. He was holding to the hope that the blow wasn't fatal and keeping the weapon there would prevent all the blood from rushing out.

Shinjiru was finished as well, standing over the bodies of who were once upon a time supposed to be his parents. He panted heavily, his tongue lolling out of his mouth not from the effort but most likely from the stress.

The sky whirled angrily again with thunder and lightning almost looking like Sasuke's jutsu but this time taking on the deranged form of another beast. Like before, the lightning struck the middle ground of their battle field but in the smoke was rising a creature as thick as sludge and it slowly was gaining features, eyes, a nose and bony bits that looked like sprouting wings. The creature had inklings of Jirai from Iruka's travels (*refer to A/N at the bottom), a creature with the looks to inspire nightmares which most likely was its initial purpose and this whole illusionary world was just an example of the extent of its power. Imagine a weapon like that with the ability to throw whole armies into a world where she was god.

Kakashi and Shinjiru and eyed each other, this was the chance they were waiting for, it was now or never.

"Whaaat have you ddoooneee." The voice reminded him of Orochimaru only much softer and airier but the venom in the tone rang clearer than ever. "To our parents brother… our home."

"Stop fucking with me." Shinjiru growled anger creeping into his voice as he clawed the ground. But the movement looked abnormal to Kakashi though and after a few seconds he realized that the wolf was preparing for a kind of counter attack and the marks on the ground was supposed to give him some idea of how to position himself. "They're dead. Long dead."

"BECAUSE YOU KILLED THEM." She roared, her for mostly just skeleton and black tar like goo. The air was surging with chakra, rippling with her as its epicenter, the world felt like it was slowly turning but their feet remained on the ground.

He inched away slowly, drawing out Iruka's dagger that he managed to take when they were pressed together.

"You have to accept they're gone sister." He growled low and lunged at her, felt he had her in his jaws but blinked in surprise as he chomped on thin air. His target was out of his sight before he had to turn several ways to find her again, Kakashi had already slipped away somewhere.

"No." she hissed low. "No I can bring them back and I wont let you have your fun anymore. Isn't that what big brothers do? Always ruining things for their little sisters." She had blinked away (being the best way to describe it) from his attempt to attack her again and again.

"You're not my sister." Shinjiru straightened himself, steeling his gaze. "I was there, I saw it. I knew. The little thing in that tube in the lab was YOU."

"No. I was born. I was born from Ixkin my mother and Navaho is my father. I was born. I was loved. I was… I was…" the air shimmer again in distress.

"They were dead by that time. Mother brought the last of her pups to Iruka and Kakashi. And Iruka came back for me. I saw his body, my father, mounted on the snake man's wall. Remember? I know you saw it. I saw you first open your eyes to the snake man's laugh, telling you you were perfect, better than me, and if you tried to run." He paused. "The ghosts would chase after you."

The world flashed now, like standing in a movie house with the pictures going on. True enough there was Orochimaru in all his demented glory laughing with Kabuto poking and prodding making her watch with lidless eyes the images of the 'ghosts' that would chase her if ever she left or disobeyed. They were real pictures, pictures of this same mountain littered with the blood of wolves and their bodies hacked open to search for the illusive reason why they could absorb chakra. Images of being prodded and electrocuted and testing her skills on various other subjects. There were so many mirror. And drowning. Drowning in a small metal tub and being revived over and over again. Then it was the image of Navaho, head mounted on the wall with his eyes burning into her soul.

It all stopped when Kakashi had managed to appear behind her and slit her throat with a dagger. He held her close, arms around her with a hand covering her lidless eyes. "I'm sorry." He had managed to avoid Shinjiru's fruitless effort by blindfolding his own eyes. There must have been a reason Iruka was blind in her illusion after all, because he was the only person who never saw her. Never saw the monster she thought she was. Her way of avoiding attacks, similar to Itachi, was to change the opponent's perception of the battle.

Shinjiru sat down heavily, shoulders snagging in an almost human gesture of grief, and he howled. Howled from deep in his chest well into the night.

A/N: just a few revisions here, chapter 10 and an epilogue left!


	11. NOTICE

Everyone still following this story so far, I'm sorry for all the confusion (added by the reformatting of and my own lack of coherent thought) and I was thinking with the help of Prescripto13 suggestions, I'll be rewriting this story from chapter 5 or 6 where all this chaos started when I tried to pick up from this story which I let wait for how many months now.

Instead of posting the last chapter, I think I owe you all revising the story properly (I know some of yyou have been following the Dogs universe since ODM so I want to do better) and earning the ending I wanted all along.

The chapters will most likely be shorter though after my revisions and would you be so kind (if you're still following after all this) to tell me if it is 'understandable' ?

Thank you for your patience,

Rem

PS: but may I ask, did everyone understand Chapter 5 breaking at the seams? (the formatting I already changed recently btw)


	12. UPDATE

AUTHOR'S NOTE:

Ok, I'm doing NaNoWriMo this year but I cant leave things hanging like this xD everything from **Chapter Five** has already been revised up **till the ending** **(which I will post in a few days time just to give everyone a chance to catch up). **

RnR and tell me if the revisions are ok? A big thank you and plushies and cookies to Prescripto13 for all the help this fic would have never been finished without the encouragement.

On a smaller note Small Worlds: A Detective Story is still being worked on but progress is slow, don't worry I didn't abandon it. As for the ending, I'll have a sequel(?) or just a title for one shots or drabbles in the Dogs universe will be called Dog Gone Days (if you were following since the beginning it's the chapter that I removed). All my fic plans other than those will be on hold at least until I get some slack from NaNoWriMo.


	13. Chapter 10: Held breath

**The Shepherd's Dog**  
><strong>Author<strong>: remthedogsitter  
><strong>Rating<strong>: M  
><strong>Summary:<strong> It's been five years since Iruka left the village on an important mission and Kakashi has been searching for him ever since. Kakashi's journey leads him deep into iron country where he is later rescued by a shepherd and his eight dogs. Will Kakashi manage to solve the mystery and save Iruka in time?  
><strong>Disclaimer<strong>: I don't own Naruto or their characters in any shape or form

**Chapter 10: Held Breath**

Kakashi slowly lowered the body almost reverently like Iruka would have wanted before going to his lover's side. He tucked loose strands behind the shell of his ear, his heart clenching at the sight of his labored breathing.

"Kashi..?" the man squinted his eyes up at him.

"Hush love I'm here." He squeezed his hand tight, there was still a lot of blood surrounding Iruka's form and he was there right next to him, so afraid. So afraid that his world that this man right here held so carefully hands was going die and take his world along with him.

Everything was shimmering again with chakra and it looked like glitter had rained from the sky and reflected off the soft light being given off by the sun that was beginning to rise. Shinjiru had not moved from his spot. It was like an old skin falling away and the view became clear that they weren't in a clearing but rather the edge of a cliff overlooking the land of what is the ancestral lands of Shinjiru's kin.

Kakashi dared to blink his eyes, feeling dizzy as everything began to look sharper and he shut eye realizing the his sharingan was back. Iruka's blood was disappearing as if the earth was swallowing it and the tan man himself sat up and pulled the spear from an already closing wound. Iruka wrapped his arms around the jounin's neck and pulled him in for a kiss. "I've missed you so much."

"I love you." Kakashi muttered in between kissing him again, relief, happiness and sorrow mingling as torrent of emotion in his chest that the thought of his heart bursting actually crossed his mind.

After a few moment of holding each other Iruka muttered to him. "Go. He needs you too right now."

Kakashi walked towards Shinjiru who still had his back towards him, he was looking at the sunrise and the view of the land.

"I had to kill my parents twice." He said slowly and painfully that his voice cracked and it was hoarse from howling all night. "I know it was an illusion but it doesn't change the memory. Me standing there in cold blood with my pack dead, I was a monster. A monster… A mon-"

"You're not." Kakashi said simply, a hand was placed on the wolf's neck. "I should thank you for all you've given to save Iruka and our family. So, Thank you. You've given more than I could ever imagine. I'm in your debt Shinjiru. The only real monster here is Orochimaru with all the lives he ruined like this."

Shinjiru sighed and closed his eyes, still pained but he leaned into the touch for the comfort that it would give. And they stood like that for a while, and over sized wolf easily standing a few feet above the jounin's head (dogs are after all taller when they're sitting down compared to when they're standing up) was leaning a little bit against the jounin and in turn the jounin was leaning against him as well as they watched the last of the sheet of chakra fall away of get blown away and fade into nothingness.

"Ai."

The two looked at Iruka who was first to break the silence. He was holding a bundle in his arms that if you squint your eyes a little it could have been the experiment that had them trapped in an illusion for so long. The two looked at it with nothing but surprise written on their face, it looked like a three month old puppy same color as Shinjiru, with two broken bony stubs poking of from it shoulder blades suggesting of wings, with a thin red line running its throat, it looked like it was sleeping, it looked like an angel. "I named her Ai."

"Before everything ended, she talked to me. Apologized for everything." Iruka said absently stroking the pup's head. "It was like a dark room somewhere in my mind. She was just looking for love and she didn't mean for all this to happen so I hugged her then. She wanted to thank us all by the way but she didn't say why." Iruka was crying at this point. "I think she wanted to lose. I mean, was it really that easy? In her world, we were stripped of jutsu, sharingan, memories and decent weapons while she was god."

His words hung in the air for a while before Kakashi approached him and gave him a well needed hug. "Ai is a good name." He kissed the top of the man's head. "It's never too late." The three buried her where Shinjiru knew were the burial grounds of the great wolves of his kin. They all return to this mountain after all, their souls walking up and waiting for the gods of the mountain to take them home. The pack caught up with them and Kakashi relief to see they were alright sent them lapping up at his face.

"Let's go home." Iruka said gently hugging his family, he missed the ninken and sense Kakashi would need his chakra more on the journey home. "All of us." He looked at Shinjiru and no definitely wasn't going to be taken for an answer.

"Iruka, with your character I never took you for the type to have cold feet." Kakashi said, cocking up his eyebrow in Iruka's direction.

He looked at him. "huh?"

"You've been putting our marriage on hold for so long that I'm starting to think you don't want to marry me anymore."

"IDIOT" the chunnin hit him on the head and Kakashi let him, laughing. "Maybe I forgot so you should ask again."

"Ok." The man got down on one knee and looked up at him like he was the only beautiful thing in the whole world. "Umino Iruka, will you marry me?" he said with the utmost sincerity, cradling his love's hand in his.

"Didn't I say yes the first time?" Iruka smiled and hugged the man close. "I love you."

"More than you can imagine." Kakashi muttered back, burying his face in the man's neck. He had half a mind to find a temple immediately in case anything else wanted to get between their marriage… again. It was going to be a long way home. Not to mention all the explaining he would have to do if he turned up, totally disproving his name and Iruka's name being on the stone monument.

Oh well, he smiled to himself, as long as they had each other it would be ok.

… but he had some explaining to do though, why Naruto and Sasuke were now somehow more than friends. (*refer to A/N)

A/N: Ai means love uhm yah those two little details are mentioned in the side story called Dog Gone Days (little chapters/ one shots or drabbles written in the Dogs universe) just a short epilogue to go!


	14. Epilogue: Home

**The Shepherd's Dog**  
><strong>Author<strong>: remthedogsitter  
><strong>Rating<strong>: M  
><strong>Summary:<strong> It's been five years since Iruka left the village on an important mission and Kakashi has been searching for him ever since. Kakashi's journey leads him deep into iron country where he is later rescued by a shepherd and his eight dogs. Will Kakashi manage to solve the mystery and save Iruka in time?  
><strong>Disclaimer<strong>: I don't own Naruto or their characters in any shape or form

**A/N: omg its finally ended I feel all warm and fuzzy**

**Epilogue: Home **

_A month later_

Iruka was sitting on the porch with all the dogs (Shinjiru a big red fuzz sleeping in the shade with his paws hanging in the air) watching the three men in his life sparing in the yard. As it were with all the mess their arrival brought to the now jounin of Naruto's generation and the Hokage's office amongst the ANBU that believed at one point they were spies they had to go through a few weeks of chaos before things finally settled down… well almost. No one bothered to tell Iruka that Sasuke and Naruto were together and chaos started again when he caught the two boys, thank heaven, still in clothes but doing questionable things. It was another week of crazy until finally it was brought down to these quiet days that seemed almost like retirement to the very tired copy-nin and his spouse.

Iruka was absently rubbing Aya's tummy as he watched several close calls but the grin on their faces told they really were just playing, like kids and true enough Kakashi held those trademark bells strapped to a string on his belt.

It was an altogether pleasant day until Iruka paled, hand pressed on Aya's belly more firmly.

"Kakashi!"

The three men stopped and Kakashi was at his side, worry on his face.

Iruka didn't say anything and instead grabbed his lover's hand and pressed it to where his hand was on Aya's belly. "Kashi, am I imagining things?"

"Ruka." The man visible swallowed pulling down his mask. "No. No you're not. I think we're going to be grandparents."

Iruka's expression was a torrent of shock, happiness and in general WTF before he just passed out.

A/N: Omg its finally over *happiness* thank you to all who have followed this story and all who reviewed, it means a lot to me. Lol more stories for the dogs universe will prob just be one shots / drabbles under the story Dog Gone Days


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